News & Events
News & Events
Alex Haines has recently been instructed in a case before the African Union (“AU”) Administrative Tribunal which is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The roles and structure of African International Organisations are often misunderstood. This article clarifies some of these distinctions. The African Union The AU is a continental union and regional organisation – equivalent to the European Union – consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African continent. In 2001, the AU was created to replace the Organisation of African Unity (“OAU”) and it was officially launched in 2002. The evolution of this institution was the outcome of a consensus by African leaders that there was a need to refocus attention from the…
News 18 Nov, 2019
Sanctions: Foreign Policy, Economic Warfare, or Both? By Alex Haines and Oliver Powell The law of sanctions and its cross-jurisdictional nature is complex, not least because its sources are both national and international; the measures it covers are both multilateral and unilateral; and the relevant case law has developed at a different pace and in different directions depending on the legal system at play. If the interaction between the four major actors in sanctions– the United Nations (U.N.), the European Union (E.U.), the United States and the United Kingdom (U.K.) –was not complicated and convoluted enough, three 2018 political developments have made a clear grasp of this area even more difficult, by injecting another level of uncertainty: (i) On 18…
News 11 Sep, 2019
John McKendrick QC and Alex Haines will be in Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico and Colombia between 28th August and 5th September 2019. At the Invitation of Nicaragua’s largest law firm, Consortium Legal, Alex and John will speak at a seminar at the Hotel Crowne Plaza in Managua on 30 August 2019. The seminar will focus on the impact of international sanctions on Nicaragua and Venezuela and will cover (i) how sanctions work (with particular emphasis on US/OFAC sanctions); (ii) the Nicaragua Act 2018; (iii) how to challenge US and EU sanctions; and (iv) how to manage the risk of sanctions in business and private sector implementation. The seminar will take place in Spanish and will be moderated by Rodrigo Taboada, partner…
News 28 Aug, 2019
We are delighted to announce that Alex Haines has been appointed to the Attorney General’s London B Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown. Alex’s appointment starts on 2 September 2019 and runs for five years. This brings OTC’s Attorney General Panel members to 11 following the appointment of Alex Line earlier this month. The UK Government relies on Panels for advice, guidance and representation. Alex specialises in (i) business crime and corruption including investigations; (ii) sanctions; (iii) regulatory and disciplinary proceedings; (iv) international organisations law; and (v) international arbitration involving international organisations. Alex is a rapporteur for Oxford International Organisations (an OUP publication), a member of the Bar Council International Committee and recently admitted to the New York Bar.
News 30 Jul, 2019
Alex Haines has recently been instructed in five appeals before the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development Administrative Tribunal (EBRDAT). The EBRDAT forms part of the grievance system of the EBRD – a multilateral development bank headquartered in London and established in 1991 to help build a new post-Cold War era in Central and Eastern Europe. The EBRDAT was set up in 2002 and is the final stage of appeal for the resolution of cases submitted by members of staff alleging the non-observance of their contracts of employment or terms of appointment, and concerning dismissals and disciplinary matters. The EBRDAT is composed of five judges, all of whom are nationals of different Member States of the EBRD. The Appeals Procedures of…
News, International 11 Jun, 2019
Alex Haines, assisted by Chloë Bell has recently been instructed in a case before the EU’s General Court. The case involved the European Investment Bank based in Luxembourg. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) – the EU’s judiciary – consists of two separate courts: the General Court and the Court of Justice. The CJEU is based in Luxembourg. For more than a decade, the institutions of the EU benefited from a three-tier judicial system in institutional and employment matters: the EU Civil Service Tribunal (CST) and, thereafter, the General Court and the Court of Justice. The CST, a specialised court within the CJEU and the first of these three tiers, was established in December 2005 and ceased to exist…
News 14 May, 2019
Alex Haines, assisted by Stephen Butler, has recently been instructed in an appeal before the United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT). The UNAT is the second and final instance of appeal within the UN internal system of justice. The UNAT was established by the General Assembly in 2009 as part of the new UN internal justice system (replacing the old United Nations Administrative Tribunal). As the second level appellate review tribunal within the UN’s justice system, the UNAT reviews (1) appeals against judgments rendered by the UN Dispute Tribunal (UNDT), (2) appeals against judgments rendered by the Dispute Tribunal of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWADT), as well as (3) appeals of decisions…
News 15 Apr, 2019
In his latest headnote for Oxford International Organizations (OXIO), Alex Haines examines how the right to due process is incorporated into the Enforcement Policy and Procedures (EPPs) of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The EPPs, together with the Agreement Establishing the EBRD and the Enforcement Committee Terms of Reference, constitute the legal framework that governs the administrative process by which the EBRD determines whether or not to sanction firms and individuals alleged to have engaged in Prohibited Practices to ensure that EBRD resources and assets are used only for their intended purposes. The EBRD’s sanctions framework follows a two-tier enforcement process, similar to the World Bank Group. Although there are concerns as to the composition of the…
Legal Blog & Publications, News, International 6 Mar, 2019
On Wednesday 16 January 2019, members of Outer Temple Chambers (Outer Temple) were invited to speak at a round table event hosted by Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP in New York. The event was opened by Judge Michael Garcia, Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, and jointly chaired by Andrew Spink QC, Chair of the Commercial Bar Association and joint Head of Outer Temple, London, UK, and Stephen Younger, Past President of the New York State Bar Association and Partner at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP. Andrew Spink QC and Oliver Powell spoke on freezing injunctions and comparative issues in disclosure of evidence, such e-disclosure. Sarah Crowther QC discussed legal fees, cost awards and litigation funding, as well as…
On Friday 18 January 2019, members of Outer Temple Chambers spoke at the 2019 New York State Bar Association Annual Meeting in New York. As part of the schedule, the panel spoke on ‘International Litigation – Introduction and Overview of the English Legal System’. The lively discussion involved an examination of the similarities and differences between the Bar of England and Wales, and the New York State Bar. Amongst other things, the panel considered: the English dual system, the hierarchy of the courts, advocacy in international arbitrations and commercial litigation, global investigations, and international travel law. Michael Bowes QC, Sarah Crowther QC, Teresa Rosen Peacocke, Oliver Powell and Alex Haines of Outer Temple Chambers were also delighted to be joined by…
News 21 Jan, 2019
What every sanctions specialist needs to know “Most compliance officers are familiar with sanctions imposed by the UN, EU, US, Canada, and other countries. These international organisations and states impose targeted financial sanctions – such as asset freezes, arms embargoes and travel bans – in order to achieve a desired outcome. A lesser known form of sanctions is one that belongs to Multilateral Development Banks (MDB) like the World Bank Group.” Click here for the full article. The article above, written by Alex Haines of Outer Temple Chambers, was first published by the Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists.
News 11 Jan, 2019
Alex Haines was invited by SanctionsAlert.com to speak on US sanctions and the EU Blocking Statute in a live webinar on 15 November 2018. The webinar, entitled The Blocking Statute: Protecting EU Companies From the Effects of Extra-Territorial Application of US Sanctions Against Iran was attended by a number of financial institutions. Other speakers at the webinar included Alina Nedea, Deputy Head of Restrictive Measures Unit, European Commission, and the Chair Anna Sayre, Legal Content Writer at SanctionsAlert.com. In this SanctionsAlert.com webinar, Alex and Alina discussed the vital elements of the EU Blocking Statute as well as how to best deal with the discrepancy between EU and US rules in order to stay compliant. The webinar covered the history of the…